Feb 19 (Reuters) – Oil prices extended gains on Monday, but the increases were limited as the dollar recaptured some ground after touching its lowest level in more than three years on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CLc1 was up 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $61.73 a barrel by 2348 GMT, after rising 4.2 percent last week.
London Brent crude LCOc1 was up 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $64.99 after rising more than 3 percent last week.
The U.S. oil rig count, an indicator of future production, rose by seven to 798, its highest since April 2015, according to a weekly report from General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s Baker Hughes unit. RIG/U
That marked the first time since June that drillers added rigs for four consecutive weeks, and the figure was well up on the 597 rigs that were active a year earlier as energy companies have boosted spending since mid-2016 when crude prices began recovering from a two-year crash. U.S. production is offsetting efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some other producers including Russia to curb production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) till the end of 2018.
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